Girls Frontline: A Valentine's Day Knight
by usedcarjockey
Summary: The first of the Welrod Side Story Anthology. A Valentine's Day Knight stars Welrod and her Commanding Officer on a comedic sleigh ride through the Scottish Highlands.


**Valentine's Day Knight**

A girl stood alone outside Grifon and Krueger Facility 78; snow falling silently in the February twilight. A cool winter breeze blew against the girl's face, causing her to throw her hood over her head to stay warm.

 _I knew the commander loves to be fashionably late, but did he really have to be on a night like this?_

The base had been given a leave of absence to allow human and T-Doll alike to enjoy one another's company. Welrod witnessed the last truck drive off with its quarry, a plethora of happy and slightly tipsy Russian dolls, over an hour ago. Now, the only personnel remaining on the base's premises was herself and the commander, who was busy finishing up paperwork so Kalina could relax on a much-needed vacation.

 _Honestly, he doesn't need to do all that paperwork by himself. He could just ask; I would be more than willing to assist him._

As far as Welrod knew, the Commander didn't have anyone to share the holiday with, which was why the night prior she asked if the commander would like to go out to dinner with her. Despite being generally well liked at the base, she was still a bit apprehensive when it came to large get togethers, hence why she politely declined Calico's invitation to the party she was hosting with Thunder 50.

The girl looked at her watch, the glass lightly frosted over. It was a quarter to eight; the commander was now an hour and a half behind schedule. The girl was about to turn back inside when she heard the ringing of bells in the crisp night air. Welrod peered down the road to see a majestic horse drawn sleigh approaching at a moderate pace. It's wooden frame, carved English Oak, could be heard creaking as the golden bells swung back and forth emitting the sweet sound most would only hear on a wedding day.

Enormous Clydesdale horses thundered towards the girl; their noses emitting puffs of white steam that faded into the darkened sky. She could see a figure at the helm, its hands wrapped around the reins.

The sleigh slid to a stop in front of the girl, as the stranger unwrapped his scarf that was covering his face. The man looked down at the girl with a wide grin.

"Duchess, your chariot awaits you!" The Commander gave a long sweeping bow, catching the beret that tumbled off his head.

"You do realize how late you are; how impolite it is to leave a lady waiting, especially one who went through the effort to set up this dinner in the first place?" Welrod's voice cut through the cold air like a knife, yet despite the language, it was far from malicious.

The commander wagged his finger. "Ah but you see Miss Welrod, a Commander is never late, he arrives precisely when he means to." The man chuckled, quite pleased with himself.

 _I should never have shown you the Lord of the Rings Trilogy._

"Now, climb aboard milady, we still have a feast to get to!"

The Commander reached down to take the hand of Welrod, who offered it in kind. He hoisted the girl into the seat beside him, giving her time to get comfortable. With a slap of the reigns and a click of his tongue, the party set off towards the village square.

Welrod looked around at the trees; they were covered in a fine white powder, as though Springfield had sprinkled sugar on their branches as she did her muffins every morning. The entire landscape was covered in a thick blanket of snow; the sleigh coasting silently over the sea of white.

"I dare say Miss Welrod, you look mighty warm this evening. Where ever did you get that coat?" The Commander was taking a glance at Welrod, who was fiddling with her satchel.

"Oh, this? Before I came to Sector 78, my old caretaker had his wife knit this for me."

"That was sweet of them, you'll have to introduce me some time, they seem like good company."

Welrod couldn't tell if it was her sweater making her warm or the blushing that covered her cheeks. She returned her attention to her satchel, digging into the corners of the leather bag.

 _Dammit all, where is it?_

"I'm not rushing things, am I?" The Commander let out a hearty laugh, his attention now on the bag that Welrod was digging through.

 _There!_

The girl felt what she was looking for and latched onto it. It was a gift for the commander.

"Sir, I wanted to give you something." The girl removed the box of chocolate she had stored away in the bag and showed it to the commander. His eyes lit up, a wide grin on his face.

"My, my, Miss Welrod, you certainly surprised me!"

The man carefully took the package into his gloved hand and opened the box, revealing the carefully packaged candies within. Each chocolate contained English Toffee; the shape itself that of a heart. The commander grabbed one of the chocolates in his hand and was about to devour it, when he stopped, the candy just an inch from his mouth.

"Miss Welrod, I'm sorry to even ask this, but… did Miss WA2000 make these?" The man's grin was wavering as he contemplated what he was about to ingest, a hint of concern lingered in his words.

"No, Sir! I made them myself. I tried one earlier and I can confirm they are NOT poisoned." Upon hearing this the commander immediately attempted to devour the candy. He chomped down on the chocolate with a loud crunch and yelped.

"Not now, you utter knob! That chocolate must be frozen solid! ...Ehe." Welrod couldn't help herself but giggle at the commander's misfortune.

The commander was rubbing his poor molar, which had taken the brunt of the pain. "I would have appreciated the warning Miss Welrod." The man attempted to look put out, but he couldn't keep up the act. He laughed along with his companion as the sleigh continued its trek.

Welrod noticed that the commander had inched closer to her over time, now squeezing her against the sleigh's wooden frame.

"Um, commander, you're a bit too close." The girl was beginning to blush again.

"OH! I'm so sorry Miss, I'll-!" The Commander, absolutely flustered, began shifting to the complete opposite side of the sleigh, however Welrod cut him off.

"But, I'm fine with that."

The girl gave him a sweet smile. The commander let out a sigh of relief and remained where he was. The two shared the warmth of each other's company as the sleigh carried the companions onwards through the wintry landscape.


End file.
